03.26.2020

MLive: Michigan senators say help for hospitals should follow $2T coronavirus aid packag

By: Malachi Barrett

Michigan’s senators said a historic $2.2 trillion economic aid package to blunt the impact of COVID-19 needs should be quickly followed with action to secure more resources for hospitals facing shortages of basic medical equipment.

The Senate unanimously approved the economic resuce bill Wednesday, which provides unprecedented aid to businesses, workers and health care systems dealing with the coronavirus pandemic nationwide. U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, celebrated the action but said Congress needs to keep a focus on addressing the immediate needs of health care workers.

“We’re not going to be able to turn the economy back on ... if we don’t tackle the health crisis,” Stabenow said on a call with reporters Thursday.

The bill, which is expected to pass in the U.S. House Friday, would provide one-time direct payments to Americans, an increase of unemployment insurance benefits and loans for small businesses and larger corporations, among other items to boost an economy showing signs of recession.

The Senate bill makes every adult making under $75,000 annually eligible to receive a $1,200 direct payment. Families with children can receive $500 per child, with no cap for larger families, Peters said.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported 3.3 million unemployment claims were filed last week, setting a national record. Peters fought to add a provision that expands eligibility for unemployment assistance, securing aid for workers who exhausted their state unemployment benefits or would not usually qualify, such as people who are self-employed, freelancers, independent contractors, seasonal workers and people who recently started or were about to start a new job.

“We have folks that are suddenly finding themselves unemployed and not knowing where the next paycheck is,” Peters said. “The anxiety is very high. This is a rare financial crisis that’s, that is based on a public health crisis. We have to solve the public health crisis in order to get the economy moving, but we have to do both simultaneously."

A total of $100 billion -- roughly 5% of the funding -- is set aside for grants to hospitals and health care organizations. The funding can be used to purchase protective gear for health care workers and assist hospitals facing what Peters called a “financial crisis."

“As they treat patients for the coronavirus, that means a lot of the other procedures they do where they generate revenue is not coming into the hospital and our rural hospitals, in particular, are going to face incredible stress,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been vocal about the shortage of COVID-19 tests and personal protection equipment, highlighting the need again at a Thursday press conference. The state is working to secure private contracts for masks and other equipment in the meantime.

“We should be able to harness the federal power to ensure that everyone has got what they need; that’s not happened," Whitmer said.

Health care systems across the state are seeking donations of masks, face shields, testing swabs, Lysol wipes and other basic gear. Meanwhile, Michigan businesses have started to transition their factories to produce personal protection equipment and ventilators.

Whitmer said Michigan has received 13 million N95 masks, 226,000 surgical masks, 35,000 hospital gowns, more than 4 million gloves, nearly 100,000 face shields, 250 beds and thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer from private groups.

The governor said it’s not enough.

“Right now, medical professionals across the state have no choice but to re-use facemasks,” Whitmer said. “This increases the risk of spreading COVID-19 at a time when we should be doing everything we can to mitigate it."

All 16 members of Michigan’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday uring the administration to approve pending requests for personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing materials.

Stabenow said Whitmer’s requests have not been fulfilled.

“I think she’s getting about 25% of what she’s been asking for for the National Stockpile,” Stabenow said. “It’s extremely chaotic and the lack of cohesive leadership or strategy is really hitting us now.”

Michigan received two allocations of personal protective equipment from the Strategic National Stockpile, according to the letter. The delegation said those shipments are “well short of the requests and we believe inadequate given the circumstances.”

Michigan requested 200,000 swabs from the national stockpile on March 19 but have yet to receive them, according to the letter.

Peters is ranking member of a Senate subcommittee tasked with oversight of FEMA. He said the federal government did not have enough gear in stock to deal with a pandemic, and called on Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel manufactures to create more medical equipment.

“The demands of hospitals across Michigan are significant and they’re going up as we continue to see cases accelerating,” Peters said. “At this point, the personal protection equipment coming from the federal government has not kept pace with the increasing demand. They need to step that up.”

Peters said he’s working to make sure personal protective equipment is allocated states where the need is greatest.

“Right now, if you look at some of those formulas, it’s based primarily on population; that doesn’t make much sense,” Peters said. It should go to those areas that have hotspots. Those hospitals that are being overwhelmed, we have to allocate those resources in that manner."